How to Sell More Now While Positioning for the Recovery

As business owners, leaders and managers we wake up every morning asking ourselves, “Is this the day we begin to see the signs of an economic recovery?” When really we should be asking ourselves two questions: 1. How do we sell more today?rn2. Are we positioned for the recovery should it happen tomorrow? Waiting to see if the recovery from our recession is just around the corner is not a healthy place to be. If you are waiting, you may be waiting a long time while missing out on great opportunities today to survive this economic downturn. rnIf you can’t wait for things to get back to normal, like they were prior to the recession, don’t hold your breath because that may never happen. What we all need to do is a better job of adjusting to this economic reality beyond simply slashing staff and costs. rnSure the markets are smaller and you should make appropriate changes to your cost structure to reflect the new realities. But are you doing the other right things to aggressively defend and grow market share today and in the future? Or are you working on improving the business you run today so it emerges as where your customers (old and new) prefer to do business? Tough times will go away, but you need to survive them first and be ready when they do. rnHere are some thoughts from my eBook “How to Sell More in a Down Market – The Leadership Secrets to Dynamite Sales Results”. http://www.howtosellmoreinadownmarket.com. Accepting the basic premise of How to Sell More in a Down Market is vital for success in selling more in a down market. The premise is for you to “take a leadership approach to your sales responsibilities”. This leadership approach is straightforward and practical. It has six elements. 1. Accept full accountability for your resultsrn2. Adopt leadership attributes for successrn3. Get and stay motivatedrn4. Become a personal productivity championrn5. Learn to plan like a leaderrn6. Take responsibility in further developing your leadership and sales professional skills Although there are a number of leadership elements that comprise an exceptional leader, How to Sell More in a Down Market focuses on each of the elements of leadership mentioned above to help improve sales results. Accepting Accountability Sales volumes are at record lows; you’ve never sold so little, and your commission checks have never been so small. You need to sell more, and you need to make more money … and you need it now! Is it possible that: • Previous good markets turned you into an order taker, and you forgot how to sell? • You’ve worked your trap line for years, and it’s finally dried up? • You’ve convinced yourself that there is no business to get? Don’t worry, I’ll show you how to grow your market share in any competitive environment. Becoming a Personal Productivity Champion As a sales professional, how is your time management, or as I like to refer to time management, how is your personal productivity? It is essential for leaders of organizations to master the art of personal productivity. You cannot afford to waste a single minute when trying to profitably grow their business. In this chapter we explore the value of time, crushing time wasters, allocating your time for optimal results and how to manage your work-life balance. Get and Stay Motivated Self motivation is an important ingredient to the successful sales professional regardless of the current market place. When the market is down, it is even more critical to create a self-motivating environment. If you still are having a difficult time finding passion in the down market, here are a few suggestions for you to consider: • Stop listening to the depressing news on talk radio and the 24-hour television news channels. • Create a list of things that make you happy, and keep a copy with you wherever you go. In addition to dozens of suggestions, ideas and tips to get and stay motivated, we provide you with numerous links to online videos that are sure to get you fired up. Plan Like a Leader Leaders spend a large portion of their time creating plans, implementing plans, measuring/monitoring plan performance and adjusting their plans. In this section, we will cover all of the aspects of planning your business—your sales responsibility. This is a process. It doesn’t and shouldn’t happen in an hour. It also helps to involve others to ensure you benefit from different perspectives. To demonstrate my point—with over 30 year’s experience, I relied on a mentor coach to help me finalize the mission statement for my business. She asked me a few questions that triggered a spark of inspiration and BOOM, a direction was set. Self Development Section For some reason, many companies elect to slow down, minimize or entirely eliminate the expense associated with training and developing their people when there is a down market. rnMost sales professionals don’t typically set time aside for self development. They’re usually too busy looking after customers or solving problems. You may have an individual development plan, but is it really aggressive enough to help you sell more in a down market? Although there is this wealth of knowledge available to you online, there is also a wealth of knowledge available to you within your own company. In this chapter we show you how to create a personalized self development plan. Successful implementation of the six elements of leadership should help you sell more in a down market, and when the markets return - and they will albeit at a level less than the recent glory years - you will have developed some new habits to contribute to your continued success.